Multimodal shipping firm Samskip has launched its own air freight forwarding division. The European company, which offers rail, road, short-sea and inland waterway options and freight forwarding services, opened its Samskip Air office at Schiphol Airport on 1 May.
The team will be tasked with growing the air freight volume that Samskip already books, establishing new routes and developing partnerships on its pan-European multimodal network.
“Schiphol is a global gateway for air freight business with China, the United States, South America, Russia, the Middle East and Africa, and provides a European gateway to Samskip’s multimodal network of trucks, trains, barges and short sea vessels,” says Martijn Tasma, director global forwarding, Samskip Logistics.
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Headquartered in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the company has 47 offices in 35 countries. It said it will start offering airfreight services for high-value cargo, as well as pier-to-pier and door-to-door delivery.
Samskip Air will be managed by Hans Blauw, who previously worked with KLM, Hellman Worldwide, FedEx, TNT and ALM (Aircraft Load Management). He will join the Dutch company after four years with logistics firm Fairways Group, reporting to Mon Verstegen, general manager freight forwarding, Samskip Logistics.
“As a career logistics professional, the opportunity to help Samskip Air become a force in airfreight logistics was too good to miss, in a market that is currently under-served on quality,” said Blauw.
“The group has exceptional skills in temperature-controlled goods, pharmaceuticals, electrical goods and automotive parts, and there is always room for services that offer reliability, cargo handling expertise, security and robust documentation,” he added.
Tasma commented, “Hans’s track record speaks for itself and we are delighted to welcome him aboard as the entrepreneurial engine driving Samskip Air. We look forward to consolidating our leading logistics role in Scandinavian fisheries exports and working with our global offices to develop other volumes and links at other airports.”
Samskip said that despite the dip in 2020 traffic due to Covid-19, recent years have seen freight volumes handled by Dutch airports stabilise around 1.6 and 1.8 million tonnes each year, with over 9o percent handled at Schiphol, considered ‘Europe’s no.2 airport for freight.’
According to The LoadStar, the company said it will be acting as a forwarder and using charters on request but with plans to own dedicated aircraft within three years.
